General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: BREAKING: Federal judge rules NSA data gathering on all US telephone calls is unconstitutional [View all]ConservativeDemocrat
(2,720 posts)Private companies have an economic interest in violating your privacy rights. The government does not.
Furthermore, it's pretty clear what the NSA is really doing. They're pulling in yottabytes of unsearched data (and I know it's unsearched because of its size, not to mention the legal impediments and oversight) into a giant data warehouse, so that when the FBI calls up and says "We have a subpoena to find who called (555) 729-3340 in the last 6 months", the NSA can then run a batch job to find out that information and give it to them.
Note the word "subpoena". That indicates court supervision. (You don't need a "warrant" thanks to the third party doctrine.) Every single mention I've seen includes that step.
Your pizza phone call, your online porn, is of no interest to them.
But I still issue this challenge, which might cause me to change my opinion: show me the actual abuse. Not some theoretical "they might be doing something and I'm scared". Instead, show me any reasonable situation in which an innocent U.S. person has been terrorized by the NSA. I see more "authoritarian" behaviors from cops breaking up late night barfights than I ever do the Feds. And that's not even mentioning the casual racism of LE personnel. No, the NSA doesn't go exposing people's secrets, which is why the courts have continually shied away from it. No standing.
- C.D. Proud Member of the Reality Based Community